`Sopranos' reheating HBO water-cooler talk

August 12, 2005|By Phil Rosenthal

Water cooler TV talk is as hard to come by these days as, well, water coolers.

HBO, on the strength of "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City," once seemed to be the sole reservoir of cooler conversation in a medium of so much tepid tap water. Now ABC, FX and others are siphoning off some of that interest.

And it's telling that whatever mild excitement there has been over recent developments on HBO's "Entourage" and its soon-to-die mortuary melodrama "Six Feet Under," it was all but drowned out by buzz over Thursday's announcement that "The Sopranos" will extend what had been touted as its sixth and final season.

Only James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano and company have the pull and presumption to string HBO subscribers along for years. Plural.

The new season of a dozen episodes now being filmed won't debut till March, 21 months after last season's finale. The eight extra episodes just announced won't run till January 2007. And that late date assumes perfectionist auteur David Chase, who had been reluctant to extend his organized crime/dysfunctional family series, can hold to a schedule.

"When something is as remarkable as `The Sopranos,' our audience would like to see it continue as long as possible," HBO Chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht said in a statement. "So we are thrilled that David Chase felt there are more stories to be told."

Thrilled should be an understatement, and viewers aren't the only ones who want it to continue.

This isn't to paint HBO as desperate. Look at all the Emmy nominations, its original movies, the theatricals it offers, the boxing, documentaries and, yes, "Real Sex." Albrecht will tell you it generates plenty of interest and tons of money.

(While parent Time Warner doesn't break out HBO's revenues, Albrecht says HBO is "the most profitable network in the whole world." One estimate puts last year's net at $1.1 billion.)

But if you're asking people to fork over cash month after month for years on end, it's important they feel they're getting their money's worth even when not glued to their set, like at the proverbial water cooler.

None of its newer series can match the broad, devoted and chatty followings of "Sex and the City," which ended last year, or "The Sopranos." "Six Feet Under" might have been in their league, but even so, it concludes its run later this month.

"Deadwood" and "The Wire" are unquestionably artistic triumphs. Cameo-heavy "Entourage" is fun and light, and Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which returns this fall, is a delicacy in part because it doesn't seek universal appeal.

Still, some ask whether HBO's coming "Rome" miniseries or its new show about the life of a Hollywood extra starring Ricky Gervais will bring back that hard-to-define buzz.

"I would disagree that that's what we're missing right now," Albrecht said a few weeks ago, when the subject came up. "`Entourage' is everywhere. I mean, the buzz out there ... `Entourage' is a water cooler show."

As far as Albrecht is concerned, everything on HBO is. To somebody.

He talks about being besieged by the intense but small fan base of "Carnivale," upset he canceled their show. He even says he likes Lisa Kudrow's sad half-hour, "The Comeback."

But then, he had a soft spot for "Arli$$" and "The Mind of the Married Man," too.

"There are a lot of water coolers in a lot of different places," Albrecht said. "People at the water cooler in Pittsburgh, they might not be talking about the same thing as the people at the water cooler in Beverly Hills."

Business is booming in any case. HBO has 28 million subscribers, with steady growth. On-demand video and DVD sales are providing new revenue streams.

Yet an Associated Press story noting all this still cited declining viewership and declared the network had "lost something off its fastball."

"The people that have written and passed judgment on our business based on ratings ... maybe [they] don't have a real understanding of HBO's business," said Albrecht, noting numerous opportunities for viewers to catch shows at various times on various nights.

Besides, he said, market research is far more important than ratings, and that's what is constantly monitored by HBO as if it were an EKG.

"We want to find out why people subscribe," he said. "What are the important attributes to them? And why don't they subscribe?"

Even if it's hard to measure, buzz and distinctive shows that generate it, such as "The Sopranos," are vital.

HBO needs its subscribers to feel good because it's selling something its customers can get a variation of for free.

Just like the people who peddle bottled water.

He could go all the way: Someone somewhere sure is making people think ABC Sports/ESPN exec Mark Shapiro might want to leave the cable network, because the 35-year-old former Chicagoan's name has surfaced twice in recent days in connection with other possible jobs.

Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder reportedly wants Shapiro, a driving force for innovation at ABC Sports and ESPN as head of programming and production, to help him develop a production company. The move would be part of an attempt by Snyder to boost Six Flags, the theme park owner and operator in which he now holds a minority stake.

Just a few days ago Shapiro's name was mentioned among potential candidates to become NBC Universal's news czar, a post that, if created, would oversee NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC.

Shapiro, a wunderkind who came to ESPN as a production assistant in 1993 after a stint working on Jim Rome's radio gabfest, is presently the No. 2 sports TV executive at The Walt Disney Co.